


Periphery

by Terminallydepraved



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Ficlet Collection, Pokemon!AU, fem x fem week, vampire!paku, witch!machi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 00:13:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13868967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terminallydepraved/pseuds/Terminallydepraved
Summary: Collection of femslash ficlets from the Fem x Fem Week on tumblr!





	1. Monster!AU

**Author's Note:**

> I helped run a femslash week on tunglr and its over now so ima post the days i was able to do. (Pakumachi for now but I'll probably add to it as I get more time)

Machi’s eyebrow twitched as she stared into the summoning ring, wondering for the first time if she might have put her efforts into a profession she really, really wasn’t cut out for. Surely this sort of screw up had to be indicative of her failure as a witch.

“You’re scowling an awful lot, aren’t you?” asked the creature curled up prettily in the middle of the chalk ring. Blonde hair cascaded like a waterfall behind her ear as the woman tilted her head, smiling her sharp-toothed smile in Machi’s direction.

“That tends to happen when a person fucks up,” Machi muttered, looking down at her spellbook and the instructions she apparently hadn’t followed close enough. How the hell had she managed to summon a vampire? Of all things, a vampire! Machi frowned bitterly. “You were supposed to be a cat.”

The vampire’s eyes went wide, and when she laughed, Machi flushed as pink as her hair. “A cat?” the woman repeated, rising to her feet in one single fluid motion. The heels she wore were largely unnecessary; she towered above Machi easily without them. “It’s been a long time since I’ve visited this plane, but surely you have cats that don’t require a hell-summons?”

Machi stood a little straighter and fixed the hat on her head. It was hard to look this woman in the eye. Vampires were like that, though. All seduction and smooth laughter, enticing voices and honeyed promises that made you want to lower your guard. She was safe while the woman was trapped in the ring, but only so long as she stayed there. Hopefully Machi could banish her before a candle or something saw fit to fall over and fuck with the chalk ring. It’d be just her luck if that happened.

“I need a familiar,” Machi muttered. “A normal cat won’t do. Figured I’d summon one, but as you can so clearly see, I didn’t quite manage it.”

The vampire smiled, showing her teeth. She crossed her arms beneath her ample chest, taking in the room around her. “What were the conditions of the spell?” she wondered, her gaze creeping back to Machi as smooth as butter.

Shrugging, Machi glared down at her book. “Simple wish fulfillment spell,” she said. “I wished for a familiar suited to me. Why? You think you can break free if I tell you about the circle I used?”

“And you thought you’d summon a cat with that?”

Machi felt herself blush again. Was she making fun of her? “Witches have cats,” she said ruefully. “I don’t know what you’d even know about it. You’re just a vampire. You don’t even use magic, Miss…?”

“Paku,” the woman said with a spreading smile. “Pakunoda, but I prefer Paku when I’m with friends. And, you know, bondmates. What’s your name?”

“I’m Machi,” she said dismissively. Pakunoda? What a nice name. Definitely not the sort of name Machi usually heard demons and vampires boasted, but then again, this vampire was hardly following her expectations–

Wait. Machi looked up, Paku’s words finally processing past the rest of her harried thoughts. “Bondmates?” she said, staring at the vampire in growing apprehension. “What the hell do you mean, bondmates?”

Paku grinned, and Machi began to think vampires showed their fangs when they were happy. The vampire tugged aside the edge of her shirt, revealing a neat little marking in the shape of Machi’s seal. It burned an iridescent black-gold against the pale skin of her breast. Machi’s lips parted in a gape, her heart hammering in her chest when a sharp heeled foot took a step past the chalk outline of the ring.

“Silly little witch,” Paku crooned, backing Machi against the shelf-crowded wall. Up close, she smelled of perfume and stale blood. “I’m not a cat, but I suppose I’m your perfect match anyway.”

A cool, manicured hand took Machi by the chin, tilting her up for a sharp-toothed kiss.

It was definitely the first time Machi had questioned her calling to the dark arts, but if she kept getting kissed like this? Well, maybe a couple mishaps now and again wouldn’t be the end of the world.


	2. Slice-of-life!AU

The moment Paku opened the door to her apartment, she found herself greeted by a billowing cloud of black smoke. She immediately coughed and covered her mouth, fumbling for her phone. “Machi?!” she shouted, quickly dialing 911. “Are you in here? I’ll get help!”

“Oh fuck,” a voice answered, a shock of pink hair appearing amidst the black. Machi raised her hands and waved them in the air frantically. “Don’t call the fire department! It’s fine!”

Paku slowly hung up the phone, taking an tentative step inside the apartment. There didn’t seem to be any sign of a fire, and the temperature didn’t feel warmer than it usually did. Machi stood as rigid as a board behind the kitchen island. Her face was smeared with black soot, her hands and hair dusted with what looked to be egg and flour.

“What the hell happened?” Paku gasped as she saw the state of her kitchen at large. The source of the smoke was apparent. The oven door was open and the charred remains of… something lay within, blackened and exuding more smoke despite the water it had been doused in. She tore her eyes away from it to look at her girlfriend instead. “Are you alright?”

Machi crossed her arms and glared at the burnt pan. “I’m fine,” she muttered. “They made it look easier in the video.”

“What video?” Paku looked at the cluttered island and saw Machi’s cellphone propped up against a half-emptied bag of flour, a paused youtube video still displayed on the screen. She gave Machi a look and picked up the phone, reading the title of the video.

The Perfect Chocolate Lava Cake - Home Recipes!

A smile curled the corners of her lips. Machi scowled at the messy floor.

“Suddenly taking an interest in baking?” Paku asked lightly.

Machi turned her scowl on her. “You really have to rub it in, don’t you?”

Paku laughed. “Well, you did nearly burn down my apartment,” she said, setting the phone back down.

“It was a surprise,” Machi muttered. She kicked the door of the oven gently, blaming it for the screw up. It was cute seeing her care so much about something like this. Machi rarely was one for the big overtures or gestures, especially outside of the usual holidays and celebrations.

“It certainly was,” Paku said, wrapping her arms around Machi to hold her tight. She huffed out a laugh. “Wow, you smell like charcoal and chocolate.”

“Oh, shut up,” Machi mumbled, hiding her face in Paku’s shoulder. “You love me anyway.”

And the best thing was she really, really did.


	3. Crossover!AU (Pokemon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the idea of machi as a nurse joy is too good to pass up, and paku with a espurr is... well, to be frank the idea is killing me softly. its so fucking cute. someone please draw it. also ive only ever played pokemon gold and silver and that was over a decade ago so ignore any glaring pokemon mistakes, i lit do not know much about the universe.

Life at a Pokecenter could never be called dull. Slow at times, but never dull. Machi let out a sigh and stared wistfully at the doors across the room, wishing she could cut her shift short and go home already. Today had been one mess after another; a tournament was going on next weekend, and that always brought a flock of new trainers to the area to test their teams before combating the gym leaders. It led to an influx of new patients, and Machi’s morning had been one large clusterfuck of activity to keep up with it all.

Why didn’t they just go to the pokecenter near the gym? She leaned heavily against the counter and blew a strand of hair away from her eyes. There were hours left of her shift. At this rate, she really didn’t have much hope of seeing it through unscathed.

The door opened with a hiss and Machi forced herself to sit up straight and smile. Here we go again, she thought, praying it wasn’t another full team. As much as she loved helping tend to the injured, she could only take so much in one day.

“Welcome to the Vermillion City Pokecenter,” she recited, her voice filled with faux cheer. “I’m Nurse Machi. What can I help you with today?”

The woman who approached the counter managed a tense smile in return. Unlike a lot of the trainers who came through the doors, this one was dressed nicely. Against her tailored suit jacket was cradled a ball of grey fluff, dusty paw prints marring the pristine black of her pencil skirt. Machi felt her cheeks heat up a little when the woman cleared her throat. Damn. She caught her staring.

“My espurr was hurt on our walk today,” the woman said softly, running her fingers through the soft fur on the pokemon’s ears. “Some punk was training with his scyther and not paying attention to where it was aiming.”

Machi immediately went into work-mode. She held out her hands and carefully took the espurr from the woman, carrying it over to the machines behind the counter. The small pokemon managed a weak mew before closing its eyes. It shivered pitifully, but the fact that it was responding at all was a good sign.

“Is… Is she going to be okay?”

Machi punched in a few buttons and turned to smile at the woman. “She’s going to be just fine,” she said, giving the espurr one last pet before leaving her so the machine could do its work. “We’ll let her get healed up while we go over the paperwork. Can I have your name, please?”

“Pakunoda,” she answered, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “I’m not a trainer, so don’t expect to find me in your database.”

A cursory check revealed that to be true. The center didn’t bother keeping track of non-trainers, so Machi backed out of the database, drumming her fingers on the mousepad. She was curious though, despite her better judgment. It wasn’t often she had non-trainers come in here.

She gave Pakunoda another discrete once-over. Especially attractive non-trainers like this.

Machi cleared her throat, straightening her hat on her head. “Your pokemon should be fine now,” she said, hearing the thrum of the machine give way to silence. The espurr let out a soft mew and Pakunoda perked up instantly. Machi smiled and gathered up the espurr in her arms, handing her over to her worried owner.

“Are you okay, Mittens?” Pakunoda whispered, kissing the espurr’s head. “I’m so relieved. Thank you so much. We’ll definitely go find that scyther and give them a piece of our mind.”

Machi winced, imagining how well that might go over. She waved her hands in the air, wondering if even a non-trainer could be reckless when it came to showing others who truly was the best. “Please don’t,” she said. “I’d hate to have to see you twice in one day.”

Pakunoda’s lips quirked into a slight smile. She cradled her purring espurr in her arms, lifting a brow questioningly. “Really?” she asked, leaning her hip against the counter. “I can’t say the same.” The espurr perked her head up like a punctuation to the obvious flirt, her cuteness only adding to the attempt.

And Machi? Machi was woefully weak. Her cheeks heated up despite her best attempts to remain calm. She gripped the edge of the counter tightly, unable to believe her luck. “I mean, I think I’d prefer it if you didn’t go chasing down trouble just to see me again. Not when you could just come back in-” Machi paused, looking up at the clock on the far wall, “-three hours and see me then. No fights or injured Mittens necessary.”

“Hmm, what do you think, love?” Pakunoda whispered against her espurr’s folded ear. As she spoke, she looked at Machi with a warm smile. “Think we can let that mean old scyther go?”

The espurr mewed and Machi smiled, happy beyond reason that her day hadn’t been dull. With any luck it would give rise to a night that promised to be even more exciting in turn.

“It’s a date then,” Machi said.

Pakunoda smiled, letting Mittens accept for her.

**Author's Note:**

> if youve got femslash requests/prompts i might do them if you put it in a comment, it saves me time thinking of things on my own


End file.
